Tents for camping, hunting, photography, or other uses have been available for a long time. These tents have evolved over time. Early tent construction involved draping a protective covering over a series of vertical supports and anchoring the perimeter of the tent to the ground with rope ties. Later tent designs involved an exterior support system involving a series of rigid shaped supports sleeved through exterior sleeves on the outer surface of the tent wall, the supports arching over the tent and allowing the tent to hang from the supports and also be stretched and held open by the supports. In many cases these exterior supports crossed over each other in the shape of an ‘X’ for more stability. More recently, tents have been constructed with flexible rods also sleeved through exterior sleeves in the tent wall. These tents often have a dome shape and are supported by the arching action of a flexible rod whose ends are pinned in position.
Many of the later tent designs have been equipped with doors, windows, and air vents created by making openings in the material of the tent wall. These openings have included screening to allow air to flow through and keep out unwanted bugs or debris. Often, the window and door openings also include a portion of the tent wall material to cover the openings for more protection against exterior elements like cold and rain. In some cases, the portion of material for covering the opening may simply be a flap of material which can be unfolded or unrolled and stayed with ties. In the case of doors, the material may include zippers for opening and closing the door. These may occur on both the tent material portion and the screen covering the opening to facilitate passage through the opening.
Many of the tent designs described, as well as other designs, suffer from several drawbacks. First, due to their temporary and portable nature, tent structures are often made of light weight materials, which can lead to only marginally sturdy enclosures. Additionally, the fabrics of the tents can expand and shrink due to weather conditions or storage conditions. When they shrink, they can be difficult to assemble because they may not cooperate as well with the support structure. When they expand, they may tend to flap in the wind leading to noise. This flapping noise can be bothersome to those trying to enjoy the outdoors and may be even more detrimental to the outdoor experience where the tent is used for hunting or photographing wild animals. Worse yet, the flapping loose material can lead to tearing. In order to make the support structure portable, tents are often made of several parts requiring assembly and making the tent difficult to set up. Finally, in the case of cross-braced supports, as described above, the cross-bracing can obstruct the view from the inside of the tent.
There is a need in the art for a tent structure that requires little or no assembly of the parts necessary for setting up the tent. There is also a need for the tent to be sturdy. Moreover, there is a need in the art for a tent that is adjustable to accommodate shrinking or expanding material. There is also a need for a tent that is quiet and that provides for unobstructed views from the inside of the tent.